Puppy Love
by starshards
Summary: Rei approaches Kai with an unusual request on behalf of the team. Of course the result is an arguement, during which Rei reveals a strange and startling face about himself. Extremely fluffy no pun intended. [KaRe]


Theme: Impossible; stubborn

Notes: One of a few fictions I've written for the kaixrei livejournal community. This one is... fluffy as hell. I figured, since there's a bit of a lull at the moment, I would annoy the misguided ones and spam- KaRe stylee yo!

This is my attempt at trying to be funn and going against cliche.

* * *

"Kai. We want a pet."

Kai looked up from his laptop to the boy sat across the room. He raised an eyebrow in question. "Oh? Then get one." He returned his attention to the screen.

Rei looked mildly surprised. "And here was me thinking that I would have to resort to giving you sexual favours in order to convince you." He half muttered.

Kai's eyes shot back up from the screen. "Hmm, I suppose I could force myself to put up a fight then." He smirked self- indulgently. "No, Rei. You may not have a pet."

Rei rolled his eyes. "Too late, Kai. You said yes."

Kai pouted –a subconscious gesture- in disappointment. "Damn. Should have thought that through better." He murmured to himself as closed off the NC-17 fiction he was reading (he had a fully prepared speech ready about researching whether this 'yaoi' thing going around was suitable for his younger team-mates). "So what were you all conspiring on?" He asked once his laptop was closed.

Rei rolled his eyes once again. "It's all very cliché. Max wants a turtle and Takao wants a snake, but Max is frightened of snakes. Kyoujyu wants nothing that could chew through wires, which threw my suggestion of something small like a rabbit or a hamster out of the window. So anyway they argued for a while over this and that, since Takao doesn't-"

"And what about _you_?" Kai broke in, staring levelly at him.

Rei looked confused, momentarily losing his train of thought. "Me?"

Kai gave him a dry look. "Yes Rei. Sometimes your opinion matters too, you know."

"Oh. _Oh!_" Rei gave him an embarrassed smile. "Well…I… erm…"

"Rei." Kai broke in again. "You know better than to be coy with me. Now, since _you_ were the one to inevitably be given the task of asking me if we can have a pet, _and_ since you're my favourite person, I'll take your suggestion. So, tell me. What do _you_ want?"

Rei smiled brightly at him and was across the room and on Kai's lap not two seconds later. "You'll really let us have what _I_ want?" Rei beamed, bouncing a little in childish delight. Kai bit back a grunt and held onto Rei's hips a fraction tighter. Rei didn't seem to notice that Kai was deriving more excitement from the fact that he was bouncing vigorously on his crotch rather than the prospect of having a cuddly addition to the house. "I want a puppy!" Rei all but exploded.

Any previous arousal Kai had been experiencing died down as surprise overwhelmed him. "A… puppy?" He replied dubiously.

Rei's bouncing died town and his face fell. "You don't want a puppy?"

Kai blinked. "No…no it's not that. It's just… I wasn't expecting that."

Rei's eyes went huge, making him look more than slightly adorable, perched as he was on Kai's thighs- something he was fully aware of. "Why?"

Kai frowned. "Well. I thought that cats and dogs didn't get on." He explained.

"…And?" Rei asked, confused.

"How can we have a puppy if they hate cats?" Kai pressed.

Rei cocked his head to the side and his frown deepened. "… Then I suppose we're lucky that we don't have a cat?"

Kai looked almost as confused as Rei at those words. "But I'd've thought that you would have a problem with dogs."

Rei blinked, and then smiled. "No! I _love_ dogs! We used to have a couple back home, but they were both bitches, so there were no puppies, but I've always, _always_ wanted a puppy!"

"But… but, Rei. You're a cat." Kai tried.

Rei looked at him strangely. "I'm a _cat_?"

"Well… yeah." Kai replied.

"Kai, just _how_ am I a cat?" Rei asked incredulously.

Kai couldn't help but feel that he had somehow offended the other teen, though he couldn't think _why_ he would be. "Well, you're… you have those fangs for one." Kai pointed out.

"And cats are the only thing in the world with sharp canines?" Rei shot back.

"Yes, but you also have _yellow_ eyes with slitty pupils, pointy ears and you can jump really-"

"_Slitty_ pupils?" Rei exploded as he hopped off Kai's lap.

'_That probably wasn't a very wise thing to say, you know.' _Kai's mind supplied helpfully.

Kai made to apologise, but Rei interrupted him. "Say it like it is why don't you? You think that I have _slitty_ pupils, right. Well if I'm such a _freak_ then why didn't you ever say so? Why not give me a litter tray? Or perhaps a bowl to drink out of?" Rei ranted.

Kai watched him in surprise. "Erm…"

"I know!" Rei hissed. "Why don't you give me a collar? Don't you think it would suit me more? And how about brushing my hair- oh _sorry_- my fur, even."

"But, Rei. I love your eyes more than anything." Kai added. Rei's anger died a little. "See. Your eyes are slitty, like a cat's." Kai went on.

Rei visibly ground his teeth together. "Kai, I hate to disappoint you, but I feel that you should know that I'm a _human being_. God. The next thing you'll tell me is that you think that I'm a woman because I have long hair and curvy hips."

Kai blinked, confused by Rei's words. "I know you're not. I've seen your-"

"Exactly!" Rei jumped in. "I'm glad that we didn't have to establish that." He sighed, before continuing, a little more calmly than before. "But you didn't make an assumption about that."

"Why would I? Just because you have two slightly feminine features doesn't make you female. You're obviously male. I should know." Kai responded.

"Exactly, so why are you telling me that because I have a couple of cat- like features, I'm a cat, when my human features vastly outweigh them?"

Kai let out a resigned sigh. "All right. You're not a cat, but that's not what I was saying. I was just saying that you're a neko-jin right? So why would you love dogs, when cats hate dogs?"

Rei shook his head and walked back over to Kai, patting him on the head. "Kai, dear. Don't take everything for gospel. _Neko-jin_ is a name that some guy who was probably on crack gave to the people of eastern, central China and some parts of Mongolia because he thought that just because a few people who had evolved some different features were humanoid cats. What have I told you about believing crazy people?" Rei sighed.

"Rei, I'm not a child." Kai growled out.

"I know that, dear. Oh by the way, just _where_ did Brooklyn say he saw that ghost again?" Rei smirked as he slumped back into his chair.

Kai coloured. "I was drunk!"

"Last time I checked it was called 'gullible'." Rei chuckled.

Kai snorted. "Go away." He grumbled.

Rei laughed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, it's just that- looking like I do- I've had people calling me a cat all my life. It just bugs me I guess. It makes me feel like people expect too much of me, so when they see that I'm a normal boy, they're disappointed." He explained.

"Why would you think that?" Kai asked him, an unusually sincere expression upon his face. I've never met a single person who's had a bad thing to say about you. Okay, so there was that time with the Bai Fu Zu, but I don't exactly class them as people."

"Oh?" Rei replied. "So what are they then? _Cats_ like _me_?"

Kai detected the off- tone in Rei's voice and realised that he was treading on thin ice once more. "No. I class them as rabid animals, but my point is that I've never thought of you as anything _but_ a person. If anything, you're an example of a perfect person…" Kai cut himself off before he ended up bumbling through 'sappy' territory, and re-directed himself. "Look. My point is that I love cats, so I find your cat features… alluring, shall we say."

Rei looked touched… seconds before he pulled a face. "Kai, please don't tell me that you're after me because you're into beastiality."

"Damn it, Rei!" Kai spluttered as he coloured heavily. "I'm trying to be serious here."

Rei raised his hands in defence. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry! I just wondered…" Rei sighed. "Fine, if you _must_ think of me as a cat, at least think of me as a tiger or something. That's at least a _little_ less insulting."

Kai shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't see what the problem is. Cat's are great, so why are you being so stubborn?"

Rei pouted. "Because I've had it all my life, and besides… I'm not even that fond of cats." He muttered.

Kai looked incredulous. "You don't like…cats? Even though you look like one?"

"Haven't you listened to a word I've said? Call me a _freak_, but _I_ think that I look like a human! And you know what man's best friend is? A _dog_. _I_ want a puppy! But since you're so worried about it fighting with your pet _cat, _I'm guessing that you won't get me one after all. Gah! You're _impossible_!" Rei spat, launching himself out of his chair and storming towards the door.

Kai sat in silence, staring at the door Rei has disappeared through.

Apparently, he had said something to upset Rei.

He sighed and went back to reading gay porn on his laptop.

* * *

After their argument –well, Rei ranting and Kai saying very little- Rei had moped around his room for a few hours.

He hadn't meant to react so badly, but- as he had stated to Kai- he had had to deal with being called a cat all his life. It was silly, but he didn't like that people viewed him as 'different'.

And now Kai had revealed that he was exactly the same as everyone else, even though he _knew_ Rei. Rei felt hurt by that. Their relationship was delicate enough as it was. He knew how Kai felt about him, he allowed Kai to flirt with him and had even let him steal a couple of kisses and a bit of groping along the way. Not that he was a tease. He was simply unsure of whether he was ready to be in a 'proper', adult relationship. He'd never even had a "relationship" when he was a pre-teen, let alone something serious.

He couldn't deny that he wasn't strongly attracted to his team captain. Nor could he deny that he was extremely _fond_ of the other boy. He knew full well that he could easily fall head over heels for him, and Kai had been doing a splendid job.

And then he had to go and ruin that. Well…maybe not _ruin_, but it had certainly pushed relationship development back a few weeks.

Rei sighed and threw himself face first onto his bed.

Why was this all so hard?

This was exactly was he was frightened of jumping into a relationship. Kai probably wouldn't even want to after the display he had shown. God. He was worse than a _woman _when he wanted to be. Kai was probably debating whether he was even worth pursuing after seeing how delicate he could be.

Damn it though! It was _his_ fault! He wouldn't listen. Rei couldn't help it that he felt so strongly about that subject. It hurt that Kai didn't think of him as a normal person. What was he? A fad? Yeah, _that_ made him feel good about himself. His team would place bets on how long the novelty would last before Kai got bored the minute they got together.

He blinked back tears and sniffled miserably, feeling stupid. Why was it so difficult?

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew his door was opening and the dull light of pre-dawn was filtering in through his window.

He shot up, startled by the fact it was the next day.

"Oh hey." A voice spoke out softly. Rei turned his head quickly to the side, finding that Kai was standing at the foot of his bed.

Rei quickly rolled into a sitting position. "Kai?" He whispered.

Kai looked a little put out. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to drop this off."

Rei shook his head, "No, it's fine, I- drop what off?"

Kai's mouth flickered into a small smile that Rei could barely see in the gloom. "Sit back a bit."

Rei did as he was asked and noticed as Kai moved closer that he had what looked to be a bundle of blankets in his arms. "Please don't tell me that you've got me a baby." Rei whispered in mock horror.

Kai laughed quietly. "Not quite, here." He placed the bundle in Rei's arms as he sat down on the vacant side of the bed, watching Rei intently.

Something wet poked at Rei's hand as he carefully unravelled the soft material- something black and wet. He was met with large blue eyes as soon as he opened the blankets up.

He couldn't help but bite his lip as he reached out and picked it up. It blinked sleepily, before yawning and wagging it's tail furiously.

'**_CUTE!_**' his mind screamed.

"K-kai…" Rei whispered, voice heavy with tears.

Kai smiled again. "I had a good look around last night, but when I thought about it, and the kind of person that you are, I figured that you'd be happier with something out of a shelter, so I went to one of those twenty- four hour dog shelters and had a look around. I don't know why, but I thought that that one was perfect. She's got 'wrong' markings or something and her owner is a professional breeder, so he wanted her put down because she's not 'perfect'. I thought that she was cute, but what do _I_ know?" Kai said dryly, though Rei could detect that the other was annoyed that such practice went on.

"Oh, Kai! She's so beautiful!" Rei gushed as he bought the little puppy to his chest, hugging and nuzzling her as she yipped softly in excitement.

Kai snorted. "I hope that that's the last time I hear that sentence leave your mouth."

Rei grinned at him, eyes full of tears. "Of course, captain!" He laughed quietly as she licked his cheek with childish enthusiasm. "I can't believe she's a husky! Oh Kai, she's just like a little wolf, I _love_ her! Wolves are my favourite animals too!"

Kai thought better than to make a comment on that, and instead gave him a small smile. "How come I go to all of that trouble, yet it's the _puppy_ who gets the kisses?"

Rei laughed and put his puppy down on the covers, reaching out for Kai with his other hand. "Oh, come here, you!"

Kai's smile grew as he leaned in to oblige Rei's request, the other boy's hand curling into the hair at the back of his neck as their lips met and gently caressed one another.

They broke apart a minute or so later, their sweetly innocent kiss leaving their lips tingling.

"Thank you, Kai. So much." Rei beamed at him as he picked his puppy back up, cradling her to him.

Kai shook his head. "No problem." He went to move away, when Rei's hand on his wrist stilled him. He turned back to face him, eyes enquiring.

"You must be tired, Kai. The puppy is too. Why don't you stay with us, we'd both like you to." Rei smiled, lying back down.

Kai took only a moment's consideration before he sat back down upon the bed and slid in beneath the covers, pressing himself against Rei's back and wrapping his arms around his slim body.

Rei smiled happily as he felt Kai relax behind him, and cuddled his snoozing puppy closer.

Surprising really that it had taken an argument to make him this happy. It was almost as if they had taken one step back and two steps forwards.

And for the first time, as he snuggled further into Kai's warm embrace, Rei knew that this was exactly what he wanted in life.

* * *

Fluffy XD 


End file.
